


Beyond the districts

by IrishUSWNT



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (Movies)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:32:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15357339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrishUSWNT/pseuds/IrishUSWNT
Summary: It's been 20 years since the famous uprising that followed the 75th Hunger Games. The rebels thought they were free until the Capitol restored order and everything went back to the way it used to be; except this time it was even worse. The new president proved to be an even worse dictator than President Snow had ever been. Determined not to fall to the districts again he ensured life was harsher than ever for them. And of course didn't the games make a return, a reminder that what the districts fought so hard to remove, couldn't be stopped.But caught up in the effort to control their own people, the capitol fails to notice the real threat at hand...What lies beyond the districts?





	Beyond the districts

Dakota could hear the crack of the whip before she could see it. She could almost feel it as though it was striking her instead of the boy she grew up with in this sorry place. His cries sent a chill right through her and her body shivered through its own will. She knew him all too well to know that those cries meant he was faced with unbearable pain.   
Gabe was one to play the tough guy, often suppressing his emotions because "Emotion was weakness". Dakota had only seen him cry once; when his mother died just two days after his fifteenth birthday. She left behind a son and a daughter, and a husband who, gripped by the grief from her sudden passing, became hooked on alcohol and drugs leaving Gabe to pick up the pieces and care for the only family he had left. He hadn't quite been the same since that day. Pain changes people. 

There was a crowd gathered in the square, and sure enough once she'd pushed her way through, Dakota's eyes fell upon her best friend chained to the whipping post, his bare back raw and bleeding, his face wet with tears. Though he tried in vain to hide it she could sense the pain in his electric blue eyes. Those same eyes caught her with her hands on her hips, the softer features of her pretty face hardening as she scowled at him. He knew he'd messed up. There wasn't a lot she could do. He just had to take his punishment while she watched in dismay. It was though he never learned. 

-

"What did you do now you idiot?"

Gabe was slumbed on her kitchen table, back to the ceiling. She was no medic, so she was grateful for the assistance from her mom, one of the district's most in demand nurses. Gabe had his front up, refusing to give into the burning agony of fifteen lashes. 

"I didn't start it," he grunted, tilting his head to one side so Dakota could hear him. He was one year older but could pass for younger, his appearance youthful and clean, playful blue eyes and messy blonde hair his most captivating features. 

Dakota quirked an eyebrow. She was the darker of the two, honey brown eyes and silky brown hair. 

"Seriously, another fight?"

"I had to..."

"No Gabe. No you didn't. You're the one that calls emotion weakness, yet you explode the moment somebody provokes you!"

The room filled with silence as the words soaked in. Gabe never liked it when they argued. He wished he could avoid it, but he couldn't. 

"You know I'll always protect my sister..."

As if on cue Gabe's 15 year old sister Skie bounded through the front door without a knock. There were three years between the two and as they grew up Gabe was reluctant to let her out of his sight, a duty to protect ingrained deep within his soul. Skie, on the other hand, wasn't so keen to remain within her brother's shadow. She was similar to him though, lively and quick-witted, not one to shy away from trouble. This wasn't something Gabe was proud of. He'd rather she'd steer away from the path he tred. It wasn't safe. Yet there was something about it that pulled him in. He just couldn't stop himself. He was a rulebreaker. It was in his blood. 

Skie rushed up to the table in the center of the room and hovered over her injured brother. She stood there for a few seconds unsure what to do with her hands. Instinctly she'd reached out to pull him into an embrace, but when she spotted the nasty gashes on his back she pulled back. Eventually she settled on taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tight. 

"What did you do?"

"They were talking shit,"

Dakota could see the lump form in Skie's throat from across the table. Humiliation perhaps? She wondered how it would feel to have a brother's protection. She wouldn't know; she had no siblings. 

It was as though Skie could feel Dakota's gaze because at that moment she chose to acknowledge her presence for the first time. Dakota was met with a pair of electric blue orbs that ran in the family. Skie was also blonde like her brother, though he was slightly fairer. She experimented with all sorts of braids, a huge building block for the bond she'd built with Dakota over the years through many hours spent braiding the latter's hair into beautiful, intricate designs. The pair could read one another so well. Skai didn't even need to mouth an appology for her brother's behavior; Dakota could see it in her expression. 

At this moment Gabe swallowed his pride. 

"I'm sorry,"

Dakota placed a hand softly on his shoulder, accompanying the gesture with a soothing squeeze. 

"Forget about it. What's done is done. So long as you stay inside and keep your ass out of trouble from now on, I think we can let this slide," 

She exchanged glances with Skai, the pair both smirking in amusement. Surely this time he'd learned his lesson. 

"Or if you can't quite manage that, you might want to work on drawing less attention to yourself. They can't hurt you, if they don't catch you..." Skai adds with a smug grin; she was evidently the smarter of the two.

**Author's Note:**

> All feedback is appreciated! Let me know what you think in the comments...


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